SUMMARY The problem which we are tackling in this work emerges from three different concerns: the importance of `learning science `informally¿ as part of the school curriculum, the need for scientific literacy and the importance of the social implications of contemporary science. An exhibition was used in the Kutxaespacio Science Museum in San Sebastian on the centenary of the Spatial Theory of Relativity to design a visit for first year Engineering students and assess the learning which is achieved. The first part of the work presents the design which was produced to build bridges between formal teaching and the exhibition visit. The second part analyses the potential of the exhibition and the aforementioned design to influence the student¿s knowledge regarding three aspects of the Spatial Theory of Relativity. The results obtained demonstrate that the visit design with activities befo...
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SUMMARY The problem which we are tackling in this work emerges from three different concerns: the importance of `learning science `informally¿ as part of the school curriculum, the need for scientific literacy and the importance of the social implications of contemporary science. An exhibition was used in the Kutxaespacio Science Museum in San Sebastian on the centenary of the Spatial Theory of Relativity to design a visit for first year Engineering students and assess the learning which is achieved. The first part of the work presents the design which was produced to build bridges between formal teaching and the exhibition visit. The second part analyses the potential of the exhibition and the aforementioned design to influence the student¿s knowledge regarding three aspects of the Spatial Theory of Relativity. The results obtained demonstrate that the visit design with activities beforehand and afterwards is effective in terms of increasing students¿ understanding and stimulating their ability to argue scientifically. RESUMEN El problema que nos planteamos en este trabajo surge de tres diferentes preocupaciones: la importancia del `aprendizaje no formal¿ de la ciencia como parte del currículo escolar, la necesidad de alfabetización científica y la importancia de las implicaciones sociales de la ciencia contemporánea. Se ha aprovechado una exposición en el Kutxaespacio de la Ciencia de San Sebastián sobre el centenario de la Teoría Especial de la Relatividad para diseñar una visita de estudiantes de primer curso de Ingeniería y evaluar el aprendizaje logrado. En la primera parte del trabajo se expone el diseño realizado para establecer puentes entre la docencia formal y la visita a la exposición. En la segunda parte se analiza el potencial de la exposición y del diseño realizado para influir en el conocimiento de los estudiantes en tres aspectos de la Teoría Especial de la Relatividad. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que el diseño de visita con actividades previas y posteriores a la misma resulta eficaz para aumentar la comprensión de los estudiantes y estimular su capacidad de argumentar científicamente.